William Holland Thomas
never knew his father, was raised by a single mother in a lowly mountain home, lacked any formal education, but was one of
the most prominent figures in western North Carolina’s history.

Colonel William Holland Thomas

(NC Office of Archives and History)

Thomas served
as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Indians (the only white man to serve as Cherokee chief) and was elected as North Carolina
state senator (1848-1861). Adopted by the Cherokee, Thomas learned to read, write and speak Cherokee, and his cousins
included both President Zachary Taylor and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Although he was an entrepreneur and
businessman, a self-taught lawyer and Indian Agent who negotiated Cherokee treaties with Washington, Thomas aligned himself
with the Confederacy and commanded a unit known as Thomas' Legion of Cherokee Indians and Highlanders. Furthermore, with the assistance of Thomas' Legion, the Union forces never
subjugated western North Carolina, and it is widely
believed that without Thomas's intervention the present-day Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians would not exist. While Thomas also owned more land than any fellow
citizen in western North Carolina's history and his "land holdings" rivaled the Vanderbilts,
he died penniless. To date, the Eastern Band bestows honor
and gratitude to its great white chief, and the North Carolina state Senate recently honored Thomas with Senate Joint Resolution 1171.

Cherokee Chief Yonaguska

(Historical Marker)

William Holland Thomas
was born on February 5, 1805, in Haywood County, North Carolina, and, unfortunately, his father had died in an accident
in the fall of 1804. His parents were born in England, and his mother, Temperance Calvert, was born in New Castle on
the Tyne (present-day Newcastle upon Tyne), England. William spelled his mother's maiden name Colvard, since Colvard
was, however, a common spelling for Calvert, with many Colvards and Calverts being related. The reason for the misspelling was phonetics. Temperance Calvert was the grand-niece of Lord Baltimore, the Founder of Maryland, and through her Strother lineage, Temperance
was cousin to Zachary Taylor, the twelfth President of the United States. (Temperance's mother was 1st cousin to Zachary's
mother.) Taylor was also 2nd cousin to President James Madison and 4th cousin, once removed, to General Robert E. Lee. He was even father-in-law to (future) Confederate President Jefferson
Davis--who had married Taylor's daughter, Sarah Knox. Taylor's son
was dashing Confederate General Richard Taylor, hence, brother-in-law
to Davis. General Nathan Bedford Forrest commented that if the South had more soldiers like General Taylor, "we would
have licked the Yankees long ago!"

William's father, Richard Thomas, was of
Welsh descent. During the American Revolution, Richard fought the British at Kings Mountain, and, while serving in the 11th
Virginia Regiment, he was captured by the British and was a Prisoner of War from August 1, 1776, to September 1,
1777. He either escaped or was released and rejoined the 11th Virginia Regiment and continued fighting the British. Like many
Revolutionary War veterans, Richard Thomas accepted a Land Grant in western North Carolina.

During his youth, William excelled in biblical studies and mathematics, and, while employed
at a local trading post, a Cherokee co-worker taught him the Cherokee language. William
was eventually adopted by the Cherokees, and he learned their customs as
well as how to write in Cherokee (see Learn How to Speak, Read, and Write in the Cherokee Language). He also learned their legends, history, and culture. Furthermore, at
the age of 16, William initiated his first business--his first of five stores--and perfected his organizational, leadership,
and managerial skills. With a volume of law books (obtained from his former employer Felix Walker), William also became a
self-taught and persuasive lawyer; acquired knowledge that would prove critical to the Cherokees' survival.

Eastern Cherokee Indian Nation

(Historical Marker)

Cherokee Chief Yonaguska (Drowning Bear) referred to the young William as Wil-Usdi or "Little Will." Yonaguska was considered the most prominent
Chief among the Eastern Cherokees and he also referred to Little Will as his son. Years later, someone
read a few chapters of the "Gospel according to Matthew" to Yonaguska. After hearing the scriptures, the Chief replied,
"It is a strange that the white people are not any better after having this so long." William and Chief Yonaguska were strong
advocates of the Temperance Society, and the Cherokees eventually signed a pledge stating that they would abstain from
spirits (alcohol). Any Indian that partook in alcoholic consumption was subject to a fine or whipping. Many Indians were
Christians, they attended the Methodist Church, and the largest concentration of Cherokee Christians resided along the
Valley River and near Murphy, North Carolina. Their Christian worship resembled modern-day Pentecostalism and was celebrated
with "dancing and shouting," recorded William Stringfield.

Chief, Intercessor, Adviser, Agent, and Lawyer

For nearly five decades, Thomas played a crucial role in Cherokee affairs.

During the 1835 Treaty of New Echotanegotiations, Indian Agent Thomas was in Washington* and he successfully lobbied for the right for
a number of Cherokees to remain in North Carolina (see Cherokee Treaties). These Indians are the present-day Eastern Band;they
were also referred to as Oconaluftee, Lufty and Qualla Indians. His lobbying in Washington
had secured the preservation of the Eastern Cherokees from the forced march west, akaTrail of Tears, in 1838 (see The Trail of Tears: Cherokee Legacy), which the Lufty refer to as Nunahi-Duna-Dlo-Hilu-I or Trail Where They Cried. Consequently,
during the forced removal, William provided safe haven for approximately 1000 Cherokees; furthermore, it is
noteworthy that his intervention is currently reflected with more than 12,000 Cherokees residing in western
North Carolina (aka North Carolina mountains). Moreover, it is widely believed that without his intervention
there would not be the Eastern Band.

(Right) Thomas purchased this chest in 1846, and he used it to store his numerous documents and
papers relating to the Cherokee.

During 1839-1840, William was in Washington fighting for the claims and rights of the Cherokees. It
was also in 1839 when Chief Yonaguska appointed his adopted son Will as Cherokee Chief. Yonaguska believed that
Will was the best choice and that he also held the Cherokees' best interests at heart. Thomas loved the Cherokees, they
were his family, and even when the Confederacy was doomed in 1864, Colonel Thomas pleaded with South Carolina officials
to immediately send food and clothing (basic necessities) to the western North Carolina Cherokees, lest they starve (O.R. Series 1, 53, pp. 313-314**). Thomas's land purchases constitute much of the Qualla Boundary, and Paint Town, Bird Town, Yellow Hill, Big Cove and Wolf Town were also named by Thomas. Near the Qualla Boundary a monument dedicated to Thomas reflects that he was "the best friend the Cherokees ever had."

**Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies; hereinafter
cited as O.R.

In the late winter of 1839, while Thomas was in Washington,
Yonaguskadied. Thomas learned about it in April. Before his death, the old chief had summoned
the men in his band to form a circle around his pallet in the Soco Council House. They accepted his recommendation that Little
Will be allowed to succeed him. Yonaguska then advised them to abstain from drinking liquor and never to move west. William
Holland Thomas became Chief of the Oconaluftee Indians. He was the only white man to hold that office. E. Stanly Godbolt, Jr. and Mattie U. Russell, Confederate Colonel and Cherokee Chief:
The Life of William Holland Thomas, 40-8.

Entrepreneur, Husband, and Visionary

William Holland Thomas

(Historical Marker)

Will was also a businessman and his extensive travel experiences promoted his profound vision
for lucrative southern turnpikes and railroads. He spent numerous years lobbying wealthy business owners, banks, and the state senate to support constructing
the transcontinental railroad, only to see his plans and dreams derailed prior to the Civil War. He often stated to his wife
that his dream was to build a transcontinental railroad, because he also believed it was necessary for the South's survival.

Many sources declare that Thomas owned vast amounts
of real-estate. His holdings included more than 150,000 acres; with thousands of acres held in trust for the Cherokees. Although
a very wealthy man, his selflessness and profound generosity kept him in debt and on the constant brink of bankruptcy. For
months and sometimes years, many Indians purchased goods on credit at Thomas's stores. Although the Cherokees were hard workers,
many were unable to compensate Thomas because employment in the region was scarce. But even when he didn't
receive payment he continued to meet the Indians' needs.

Colonel Thomas Muster Record

(Click to Enlarge)

He didn't display much affection for the so-called fancy city women because he believed
that they were too worldly and self-centered. Senator Thomas found solace in smoking cigars, fishing,
and occasionally attending the "theatre." Eventually, at the age of 51, the bachelor William had a romantic relationship
with the shy, 24 year old, Sarah Jane Burney Love. Their marriage bond reflects that they married on June
30, 1857, at Sarah's home in Haywood County, with Reverend Banister Turner officiating.

Sarah, affectionately referred to as "Sallie," was the daughter of William's long time friend
and former business partner James Robert Love. She was also the granddaughter of the
Revolutionary War hero Colonel
Robert Love, the founder of Waynesville, North Carolina. Sarah's father, James Robert
Love, was also a prosperous businessman, vast land owner, and a respected lawyer in North Carolina. The Loves resided in White
Sulphur Springs, near Waynesville, and they equaled the status of Chief Thomas. William and Sarah begat three children: William H. Thomas, Jr. (1858-1898), James Robert
Thomas (1860-1936), and Sallie Love Thomas (1862-1954), and many of their descendants currently reside in western North Carolina. (See Cherokees Adopt William Holland Thomas's Descendants.)

Thomas L. Clingman wrote to his close friend Thomas:
"As to the dark eyed girl do not hesitate to go totally forward. I hope to get
to your wedding soon."E. Stanly Godbolt, Jr. and Mattie U. Russell, Confederate
Colonel and Cherokee Chief: The Life of William Holland Thomas, 79-4.

Senator & General Thomas Clingman

(Historical Marker)

Thomas Lanier Clingman was a prominent United States Senator representing North Carolina and he also commanded the 25th North Carolina Infantry Regiment and, later, Clingman's Brigade. Colonel Thomas Clingman, later promoted to brigadier-general, was an ardent lawyer and one of the most outspoken politicians of his era and
his proslavery and states' rights positions climaxed with his quote to Congress: "Do us justice and we stand with you;
attempt to trample on us and we separate!"

General Robert E. Lee's esteem for Clingman was reflected vividly when he ordered Clingman to defend Richmond, Virginia. Later, at
Lee's request, Clingman and his "Bonnie Blue Boys" greatly assisted in routing the Union forces at the Battle of Cold Harbor. General Ulysses S. Grant was a West Point graduate and veteran of the
Mexican-American War, and he wrote of Cold Harbor: "I regret this assault more than any one I ever ordered." Grant was later elected
the eighteenth U.S. President.

Thomas displayed a rare ability because
he earned the respect and loyalty of the Cherokee and western North Carolinian. As an adopted Cherokee, Indian agent
and Cherokee chief, he earned the confidence of the Cherokee; as a North Carolina state senator, he gained the vote
and trust of the western North Carolinian (aka mountaineer or highlander); and as a self-taught lawyer, he even convinced
Washington to exempt approximately 1000 Cherokees from the Trail of Tears.

Will, a North Carolina State Senator from Jackson County, was also one of the
largest slave owners in western North Carolina. Jackson County, ironically, was named in honor of President
Andrew Jackson; he had signed the act that forced the Cherokees' removal. According to archives and census
records, Thomas had owned less than 50 slaves (Jackson County, North Carolina, 1860 Slave Census) before their emancipation in 1865. Many of the slaves were his friends and he even entrusted one slave to conduct commerce and business transactions on his behalf.

(Above) The following caption
is under the original image: Above is shown the last photograph ever taken of the remaining members of the famous Thomas Legion,
composed of Cherokee Indians in the Confederate Army. The photograph was made in New Orleans at the time of the New Orleans
Reunion of Confederate Veterans. The inscription on the banner, displayed in the photograph, is as follows: "Cherokee Veteran
Indians of Thomas Legion. 69 N. C. Regiment. Suo-Noo-Kee Camp U. C. V. 4th Brigade, N. C. Division." Reading from left to
right, those in the picture are: front row, 1 Young Deer; 2 unidentified; 3 Pheasant; 4 Chief David Reed; 5 Sevier Skitty;
back row, 1 the Rev. Bird Saloneta; 2 Dickey Driver; 3 Lieut. Col. W. W. Stringfield of Waynesville; 4 Lieutenant Suatie Owl;
5 Jim Keg; 6 Wesley Crow; 7 unidentified; 8 Lieutenant Calvin Cagle. All of these men are now dead with the exception of Sevier
Skitty, who lives one mile from Cherokee. Lieut. Col. Stringfield and Lieut. Cagle were white officers of the legion. Names
of the men in the photograph were furnished by James R. Thomas of Waynesville, son of the late Col. W. H. Thomas, who commanded
the Thomas Legion. This band of Indians built the first road across the Great Smoky Mountains. Photo courtesy National
Park Service.

William Holland Thomas

(Historical Marker)

(Right) William Holland Thomas Historical Marker

Inscription:

William Holland Thomas1805-1893Businessman, planter and author

Agent and attorney for the Eastern Cherokees

Member of the North Carolina State Senate and Chairman of its Committee
on Internal Improvements

Early railroad builder in western North Carolina

Builder of the first wagon road across the Great Smokies

Colonel of the 69th N.C. Regiment

Commander of the Thomas Legion, C.S.A.

Friend and Benefactor of the Cherokee People

Location:Eastern Cherokee Indian Reservation, North Carolina

William Holland Thomas to his wife, January 1, 1861

North Carolina cannot remain much longer stationary; she
must write her destiny either under the flag of Mr. Lincoln and aid to coerce the south or unite with the south to resist
and defend their rights.

John C. Inscoe and Gordon B. McKinney, The Heart of Confederate Appalachia: Western North Carolina
in the Civil War, 46-7.

Thomas Clingman to William H. Thomas, January
9, 1861

The obvious policy and purpose of the
Black Republicans is to keep the South unprepared and divided until they can get into power, and then their intention is unmistakable
— to use all the power of the government to compel the South to submit to their domination, to the extent even of abolishing
slavery, should civil war afford them a tolerable pretext. If, however, North Carolina, Virginia and the border States will
act at once, they may, by preserving a united South, avert the evils of civil war. John C. Inscoe,Mountain Masters: Slavery and the Sectional Crisis in Western North Carolina, 225.

William
H. Thomas to his wife, June 17, 1861

The mountains of Western North Carolina
would be the center of the Confederacy; we shall then have one of the most prosperous countries in the world.It will become connected with every part of the South by railroad.It
will then become the center of manufacturing for the Southern market.The place where
the southern people will spend their money, educate their children and very probably make laws for the nation. John C. Inscoe, Mountain Masters: Slavery and the Sectional Crisis in Western North Carolina,
228.

Alpha Male and Type "A"

During the Civil War, William Thomas was court-martialed three times.

Regarding Thomas's
court-martials, President Jefferson Davis wrote that they were "disingenuous and destructive to the Confederate cause."

Thomas Legion's Officers

(Some of the Unit's Officers)

Thomas's Civil War Strategy was the basis for his court-martials. In the summer of 1863, while assigned to Brig. Gen. Alfred Eugene "Old Mudwall" Jackson's command, Colonel Thomas was arrested and awaiting court-martial. Colonel Thomas' Legion had been reorganized
into Jackson's Brigade, and Jackson's Brigade consisted
of Thomas' Legion only (O.R., 1, 29, pt. II, p. 812 and O.R., 1, 33, p. 1137). Was it a legion or a brigade? This confusing and conflicting command structure was highly contested, so General Jackson had Thomas arrested in
June of 1863 and charged with "disobedience of orders." Thomas was sent to Knoxville, Tennessee, to be court-martialed, but
Union General Ambrose E. Burnside's East Tennessee invasion intervened and, as a consequence, Thomas' Legion was reassigned thus defusing the situation.

Another court-martial was to occur on February 23, 1864, because of the capture of
General Robert B. Vance, brother to North Carolina Governor Zebulon B. Vance. Leaving Thomas at Gatlinburg, General Vance had proceeded to Sevierville,
Tenn., and was captured because he failed to post pickets and not as a result of Thomas disobeying orders. Vance
remained in a Federal prison until the war ended and even conceded that his capture was a misunderstanding of orders.

Furthermore, prior to the war, the Vances were bitter rivals of Senator Thomas and
they even held opposite views on the ad valorem taxand senate railroad bills (which fueled their bitter rivalry). According to official records and
reports, Thomas was not responsible for Robert Vance's capture. However, ignoring official reports, Zebulon Vance believed
that Thomas was culpable and used his brother's capture as an opportunity to punish his rival. Zebulon had
initially commanded the valiant 26th North Carolina Infantry Regiment, which suffered the greatest loss of any regiment during the Civil War. Zebulon was North Carolina's
Governor (1862-1865 and 1876-1878) and also served in the United States Senate (1879-1894).

War Department & Colonel Thomas

(Click to Enlarge)

Regarding the capture of Robert Vance, however, Colonel John B. Palmer stated that Lt. Colonel James L. Henry, and not Thomas, should be court-martialed (O.R., 1, 32, pt. 1, p. 76). James Seddon, the Confederate Secretary of War, believed that Vance was partially responsible for his own
capture. Regarding the culpability of Vance's capture, President Jefferson Davis had written that "no action is practicable
which seems proper." (O.R., 32, 1, p. 77). And on behalf of Thomas, President Davis also intervened, the charges were dismissed, and no trial
was held.

On May 11, 1864, Thomas was charged with receiving deserters from the 65th North Carolina Regiment between September 1863 and April 1864. On this occasion, however, General Jackson was relieved of his command and
sent to the Army of Tennessee. Again, there was no court-martial. In October of 1864 the trial resumed and Thomas was
found guilty of all charges. This court-martial combined a prior court-martial with four additional charges. As
with prior charges, he appealed to his dear friend, Jefferson Davis. Davis once more reversed the charges and Thomas
was exonerated.

In 1865, William Holland Thomas signed the "Oath of Loyalty to the United States." However, with
a prewar taxable property value exceeding $20,000, a 'Presidential Pardon' was also required. President Andrew Johnson, a friend of Thomas for twenty-five years, granted the pardon. The seventeenth President and North
Carolina born Andrew Johnson granted Will his pardon on July 5, 1866.

Initially, in 1867, he was admitted to the North
Carolina Insane Asylum at Raleigh and diagnosed withDementia. Subsequently, on May 12, 1883, Thomas was admitted to the western North Carolina
Insane Asylum at Morganton (currently Broughton Hospital, it catered to western North Carolina, and is approximately 200
miles west of Raleigh). Whether he volunteered or was forced to enter the asylum, he spent most of his latter years
at the asylum or under close supervision. There were times when he was placed on what is commonly referred to as house-arrest
in his home near Whittier, North Carolina. Ironically, while Thomas was a state senator a bill was placed on
his desk; it was a proposal to create and fund Broughton Hospital.

Thomas was well prepared for death, for he had witnessed the
loss of every single person that was closest to him: his father had passed away just prior to Little Will's birth; his adopted
father, Chief Yonaguska, had died one year after the 1838 Trail of Tears; thousands of Cherokee had died during the Trail
of Tears; hundreds of North Carolina Cherokee had been killed by smallpox during and after the Civil War; many of his closest
friends had died during America's bloodiest war (1861-1865); on October 1, 1874, Will's mother Temperance had died at
the age of 100; his darling wife Sallie had died at the age of 45 on May 15, 1877.

Within one week of Sallie's passing, Thomas was committed to
the "Asylum" where he spent his remaining years. Further irony plagued the Colonel, he petitioned the Governor of North Carolina
for his release. Unfortunately, once again, his rival Zebulon Vance was North Carolina's Governor.

William Holland Thomas

(Historical Marker)

At the age of eighty-eight the great Cherokee Chief, Little Will, went to
his final resting place at 2:30 A.M. on May 10, 1893.

William Holland Thomas

(Click to Enlarge)

William Holland Thomas

(Click to Enlarge)

Thirty
years prior, General "Stonewall" Jackson was mortally wounded by friendly fire and died on May
10, 1863, and on May 10, 1865, Union troops captured Confederate President Jefferson Davis near Irwinville, Georgia. Thomas
dreamed about a transcontinental railroad, and on May 10, 1869, the "Golden Spike" (aka "The Last Spike") was the ceremonial
final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" across the United States
connecting the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory. Thomas also believed that
the North Carolina mountains would become one of the most visited regions of the nation. Today, the Great Smoky
Mountain National Park, located mainly in western North Carolina, is the most visited National Park in the United States.
(See Southern Appalachian Mountains.)

Although Union forces never subjugated western North Carolina, the Eastern Band continues to bestow honor and gratitude to its
great white chief. My ancestors were friends with William Holland Thomas and several served in
Thomas' Legion of Indians and
Highlanders.

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

(Historical Marker)

Cemetery where Thomas was laid to rest

Chief William Holland Thomas

In Memorial: William Holland Thomas lobbied
Washington for the Cherokee to remain in North Carolina and was even on the scene during the 1838 Trail of Tears
and persuaded General Winfield Scott, the Indian removal enforcement officer, to allow the Cherokee hiding in the North
Carolina mountains to also remain. Without Thomas's intervention at both fronts, there would not be a single Cherokee
in western North Carolina. Thomas had spent his entire life, including his massive savings and investments, to secure
the right for the Cherokee to survive and remain in North Carolina. Thomas was our Oscar Schindler, and his significance
is reflected with the existence of the present-day Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. This website is dedicated in his
memory and honor.

Recommended Reading:Confederate Colonel and Cherokee Chief: The Life of William Holland
Thomas. Description by University of Tennessee Press: William Holland Thomas (1805-1893) was a unique transcultural figure.
A white man from western North Carolina, he was adopted
by a small Cherokee Indian band and later became its chief. Equally at home in a drawing room or at a Green Corn Dance, Thomas
served as agent for the Oconaluftee Indians in Washington,
protecting them from removal to the West in 1838 along the infamous Trail of Tears. Thomas was also a frontier merchant, a
builder of railroads and turnpikes, a wealthy owner of land and slaves, a state senator, and a Confederate colonel in the
Civil War, in which he commanded a legion of Cherokees and white Appalachians. Continued
below…

In this first published biography
of Thomas, the authors depict nineteenth-century America at a turning point and document
a human tragedy. An influential businessman and politician who enjoyed a storybook courtship and marriage, Thomas came to
ruin when—as a member of the North Carolina secession convention—he committed his loyalty toward his people, family,
and region to the hopeless cause of the Confederacy. This investigation of Thomas's life also reveals much about the culture
and plight of the Cherokees, their experience with removal, their legal battle to "legitimize" themselves as citizens of North Carolina, and their role in the Civil War. Confederate Colonel
and Cherokee Chief will be of interest to students of the Civil War and of Native American, North Carolina, Appalachian, and Southern history. The Authors: E. Stanly Godbold, Jr., is a professor of history at MississippiStateUniversity and coauthor
of Christopher Gadsden and the American Revolution. Mattie U. Russell was curator of manuscripts in the William R. Perkins
Library at DukeUniversity.

Recommended
Reading:Storm in the Mountains: Thomas' Confederate Legion of Cherokee Indians and Mountaineers (Thomas' Legion: The Sixty-ninth North Carolina Regiment). Description: Vernon
H. Crow, Storm in the Mountains, spent 10 years conducting extensive Thomas
Legion's research. Crow was granted access to rare manuscripts, special collections, and privately held diaries
which add great depth to this rarely discussed Civil War legion. He explores and discusses the unit's formation, fighting
history, and life of the legion's commander--Cherokee chief and Confederate colonel--William Holland Thomas. Continued below...

Numerous maps and photographs allow the reader to better understand and
relate to the subjects discussed. It also contains rosters which is an added bonus for researchers and genealogists. Crow,
furthermore, left no stone unturned while examining the many facets of the Thomas Legion and his research is conveyed on a
level that scores with Civil War students and scholars alike.

Bibliography:

Digital Library of Georgia; Museum of the Cherokee Indian; Official Website of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Nation (cherokee-nc.com); Vernon H. Crow,
Storm in the Mountains: Thomas' Confederate Legion of Cherokee Indians and Mountaineers; Vernon H. Crow, The Justness of Our
Cause; Duke University; University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill); University of Tennessee (Knoxville);
North Carolina Division of Archives and History; National Archives and Records Administration; Library of Congress; State
Library of North Carolina; North Carolina Museum of History; Tennessee State Library and Archives; Official Records of the
Union and Confederate Armies; Thomas Legion Papers: (thomaslegion.net/papers.html); Western Carolina University; North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources; E.
Stanly Godbolt, Jr. and Mattie U. Russell, Confederate Colonel and Cherokee Chief: The Life of William Holland Thomas; The
Civil War Diary of William W. Stringfield, Johnson City, TN: East Tennessee Historical Society Publications; North Carolina
Troops, 1861-1865: A Roster (Volume XVI: Thomas's Legion), North Carolina Office of Archives and History; John R. Finger,
The Eastern Band of Cherokees; Paul A. Thomsen, Rebel Chief: The Motley Life of Colonel William Holland Thomas C.S.A.; Christopher
M. Watford, The Civil War in North Carolina: Soldiers' and Civilians' Letters and Diaries, 1861-1865, Volume 2: The Mountains; John
C. Inscoe and Gordon B. McKinney, The Heart of Confederate Appalachia: Western North Carolina in the Civil War; D. H.
Hill, Confederate Military History Of North Carolina: North Carolina In The Civil War, 1861-1865; Weymouth T. Jordan and Louis
H. Manarin, North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865; Walter Clark, Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina
in the Great War 1861-1865; National Park Service, American Civil War; The Papers of Jefferson Davis, Rice University; William
R. Trotter, Bushwhackers: The Civil War in North Carolina, The Mountains; John C. Inscoe, Mountain Masters: Slavery and
the Sectional Crisis in Western North Carolina; William C. Davis, Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour (1991); Rankin Barbee,
The Capture of Jefferson Davis (1947); James I. Robertson, Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, the Legend; John S. D.
Eisenhower, Zachary Taylor: The American Presidents Series: The 12th President, 1849-1850; Oklahoma Historical Society’s
Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture; Sean Michael O'Brien, Mountain Partisans: Guerrilla Warfare in the Southern
Appalachians, 1861-1865; Noel C. Fisher, War at Every Door: Partisan Politics and Guerrilla Violence in East Tennessee, 1860-1869; The
Sylva Herald (North Carolina); Smoky Mountain (North Carolina) News; Jackson County (North Carolina) Genealogy Society; Cashiers
(North Carolina) Historical Society; Macon County (North Carolina) Historical Society & Museum; American Neurological
Association; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; Victoria Casey McDonald, A Pictorial History: The African-Americans
of Jackson County; General Assembly of North Carolina, Session 2005; archives.gov; whitehouse.gov; bioguide.congress.gov;
senate.gov; Confederate War Records.